OVIEDO, Fla. — Affordable housing is coming to Oviedo, even though residents fought to keep it out. Over 100 rental units proposed at Alafaya Trail and Chapman Road in Oviedo were initially denied in court, but the developer came up with a 94-unit proposal the city couldn't refuse.
Tuesday, residents told WFTV they fear the new renters won't commit to the community.
After years of fighting, residents still list all the fears you'd expect with any large development: traffic, overcrowding in area schools, and even new crime problems. But, like it or not, the developer says, construction will start before the week is out.
Atlantic Housing Partners is finally allowed to build the units as low-income rentals, despite strong objections from neighbors like Mary Burniewicz.
"Just really disappointed and devastated," Burniewicz said.
"Is this moving forward once and for all?" WFTV reporter George Spencer asked developer Scott Culp.
"Absolutely, yeah. With the decision Thursday night, this is moving forward once and for all. It will be built," said Scott Culp, Atlantic Housing Partners.
Culp says he's made big concessions to win city approval, like reducing the number of units from nearly 200 to 94. The developer also agreed to build an 8-foot-tall brick wall, separating the new development from the upscale subdivision immediately adjacent to it.
The entire project had been in limbo after the city held developers to an agreement that the units be owner-occupied, not $800 a month, low-income rentals. But the changes this time fit in the city's comprehensive plan, so city leaders said they had very little power to impose restrictions.
"It will be something that is really needed at this time in our community. We have a lot of families that have been through foreclosure, that have had bankruptcies. They're not going to be homeowners anytime soon," Culp said.
Despite that optimism, many neighbors maintain that low-income rental units just don't fit in that part of Oviedo. The bulk of the residents would earn $20,000 to $40,000 per year and neighbors said they'll have no long-term ties there.